Abstract
Bone is a preferred site for both primary and metastasis tumors. Current diagnosis of osteopathia typically relies on noninvasive skeleton radiography technology. However, due to the limited resolution of ionizing radiation, accurate diagnosis and effective identification impairment areas are still lacking. Near-infrared (NIR) bioimaging, especially in the NIR-II (1000-1700 nm) regions, can provide high sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolution bioimaging compared to the conventional radiography. Thus, NIR bioimaging affords intraoperative visualization and imaging-guided surgery, aiming to overcome challenges associated with theranostics of osteopathia and bone tumors. The present review aimed to summarize the latest evidence on the use of NIR probes for the targeting bone imaging. We further highlight the recent advances in bone photoX (X presents thermal, dynamic, and immuno) therapy through NIR probes, in particular combination with other customized therapeutic agents could provide high-efficiency treatment for bone tumors.
Introduction
Bone tumors are generally classified into orthotopic tumors and metastatic tumors. Osteosarcoma is the most common orthotopic bone cancer and the third most common cancer among children and adolescents (). Bone is also a preferred site for tumor hematogenous metastasis such as breast, prostate, or lung cancer. There are more than 600,000 cases of bone metastases diagnosed every year in the United States in older adults (>40 years of age) (). Hence, it is necessary to diagnose the disease in an early stage and personalize treatments based on patient’s individual variability (). Currently, varieties of imaging techniques are used in the clinical practice, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), ultrasound (US), positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission tomography (SPECT). However, CT and MRI often require high doses of contrast agents; PET and SPECT require radioactive tracers, increasing the safety concern (; Tsien, 2003). Thus, a noninvasive, accurate, and efficient diagnosis and therapeutic response monitoring of bone cancer are urgently needed in order to meet the needs of the clinician.
Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging (700–1700 nm), which benefits from minimal tissue absorption, scattering, and auto-fluorescence, is favorable for in vivo imaging with a high signal-to-background ratio (SBR) (Teitelbaum, 2000; ; ; Zhu et al., 2013; Sun et al., 2016; Zhao et al., 2016; Yang et al., 2017). Compared to traditional diagnosis modalities, NIR fluorescence imaging offers advantages in biosafety, imaging resolution, and speed (). This technique could integrate multiplexing of signals and evaluate interactions between bone-specific molecular targets, the microenvironment, and tumor metastasis (). Recently, the discovery of NIR-II (1,000–1700 nm) imaging modality further increases the penetration depth and imaging contrast compared with NIR-I (700–1,000 nm) window (Zhu et al., 2018; Zhu S. et al., 2019), providing improved in vivo imaging quality for deep tissue visualization (Xu et al., 2021).
There are several unsolved issues in traditional imaging modalities. First, overwhelming binding affinity of the imaging probe results in excessive deposition of the probe in the bone cortex, thus blurring the imaging resolution of cancellous bone (). This phenomenon can affect the precise assessment of the bone state and fail to diagnose the tiny lesions (). Second, bone disease and other relative diseases may affect the local skeletal condition in terms of bone mineral density, organizational change, and other characteristic diagnostic markers, further increasing the difficulties in disease diagnosis (). The collection of per-lesion basis image features is the vital evidence, which can be used to determine lesion-wise response (Yip and Jeraj, 2014). At last, it is still difficult to accurately differentiate between osteogenic and osteoclastic states in the lesion marginal area which is the most desirable information for clinicians (). These phenomena hinder the application of imaging diagnosis in clinic. The advent of the NIR fluorescent probe promises to lead bone imaging diagnosis out of the current predicament. This review article starts with the bone physiology and bone tumor microenvironment and then summarizes the synthesis and categories of imaging mechanism of current NIR probes with bone targeting ability. We further discuss the bone cancer diagnosis by NIR probes and photoX therapy of bone cancer by NIR probes. The challenges of bone-targeting NIR probes are also discussed.
The Bone Physiology and Bone Tumor Microenvironment
Bone is composed of three main cell types, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteocytes, which are responsible for maintaining structure through precise remodeling (). Osteoblasts, derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the bone marrow, could synthesize and secrete the organic bone matrix. The organic bone matrix is composed of type I collagen (90%), non-collagenous proteins, water, and hydroxyapatite (). Mature osteoclasts derived from monocytes could solubilize the bone matrix via acidification and also resorb mineralized bone (). Osteoclasts bind to the bone matrix via integrin receptors in the osteoclast membrane. Osteoclasts express cathepsin K and other enzymes that aid the acidified resorption of bone (Teitelbaum, 2000). The osteocytes lie in lacunae within the mineralized bone and have extensive filopodial processes in the canaliculi of mineralized bone (). Whereas the earliest functions proposed for osteocytes were mechanosensing and removal of their perilacunar matrix, an unanticipated function was the osteocyte-producing factors that could regulate both bone cells and distant organs (e.g., kidney) (). Besides cell composition, the primary mineral content of bone is hydroxyapatite [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2], which is approximately 200 Å in their largest dimension. The calcium- and phosphate-binding proteins, including osteocalcin, osteopontin, and bone sialoprotein, contribute to regulate hydroxyapatite crystallization and ordered deposition of minerals ().
The bone microenvironment is composed of bone marrow and a mineralized extracellular matrix (Yang et al., 2020). The most exceptional aspect of the bone metastasis biology is that the developmental sites include the host hematopoietically active red marrow () and the subversion of the osteolysis and osteogenesis processes (). Nonetheless, the tumor microenvironment (TME) is much more complicated than bone microenvironment, including molecular elements, signaling pathways, and mechanical properties (). In addition, the bone marrow MSCs in the tumor microenvironment help tumor cells evade the immune attack by avoiding the immune recognition and instigating an immunosuppressive TME (; ). Biological signals contribute to the pathogenesis of cancer (), while physical factors (tissue architecture, matrix stiffness) change phenotypes of cancer cells (). Collectively, much less is known on the molecular mechanism of bone TME. Investigating these parameters is essential to understanding the disease and guiding the development of future therapeutic strategies.
Fluorescence Probes With Targeting Bone Characteristic
Synthesis
There are 50–70% inorganic substances in bone, among which hydroxyapatite (HA) is the main component of inorganic minerals in bone tissue and is also the most important target for bone fluorescence imaging. Anionic ligands such as phosphate- and carboxylate-rich compounds were designed to chelate to the Ca2+ of bone. Different targeting groups have different ligands, which were conjugated with fluorescence dyes to endow these molecules with bone-targeting properties (Gao et al., 2020).
Bisphosphonates (BPs) and analogs are widely used bone-targeting ligands. Due to their high affinity to Ca2+ ions, BPs could rapidly localize into bone minerals (). The P-C-P moiety is responsible for the strong affinity between BPs and hydroxyapatite through tridentate-binding sites, increasing the resistance of BPs to chemical and enzymatic degradation (; ). To label bone-binding ligands with NIR probes, the cross-linked BP nanoparticles were covalently conjugated with NHS-activated NIR dye Cy7 (; ). The BP particles, which enhanced photostability and biocompatibility of the fluorescence dye, possessed higher inhibition activity than alendronate () and exhibited affinity to the chicken embryo bones () (Figure 1). Further research demonstrated the poly(MA-PEG-BP) NPs prolonged half-life and preferential uptake in areas of bone with high activity ().
FIGURE 1
Aspartic acid-rich polypeptides, such as Asp8 (Wang et al., 2007), Asp7 (
Tetracycline is another hydroxyapatite-targeting compound, while its side effects limited the clinical/laboratory-scale usage (Xie et al., 2018). Currently, tetracycline derivatives are exploited to reduce the side effects of tetracycline. For example, a tetracycline derivative bound to IRDye 800CW (
There are other bone-targeting ligands that can be potentially applied to bone cancer imaging (e.g., succinic acid) (
Targeting Bone Composition and Imaging Quality
For precisely discriminating bone cancer, the designed fluorescent probes should selectively target bone mineral (
FIGURE 2

NIR-II fluorescence imaging reveals bone marrow retention using dual-emission polymer dots (Pdots). (A) Schematic illustration for the preparation of dual-emission Pdots. (B) Optical photograph and fluorescence imaging of bone marrow retained by a cell strainer. (C) Confocal images of bone marrow cells retained by a cell strainer. Scale bar: 25 μm. Reproduced with permission from
Imaging quality is an important indicator to evaluate whether NIR technology can be applied in the clinical setting. With the development of bone-targeting probes, the NIR signal intensity of bone can reach 20-fold than that of surrounding tissues (
Although NIR bioimaging has shown remarkable results in bone imagingthe challenge remains that the tissue boundary is not clearly defined (
FIGURE 3

NIR-II imaging of osteosarcoma lung metastasis imaging with high imaging contrast and resolution by CH1055-PEG-Affibody. (A) NIR-II fluorescent signals of the lung for lung metastasis evaluation. (B) H&E staining results of parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the NIR-II lung imaging supported that probe could diagnose small lesions (<1 mm in diameter) that could not be detected by the CT technique. Reproduced with permission from Zhou et al. (2019).
FIGURE 4

Gold nanoclusters for NIR-II fluorescence imaging of bones. (A) The structure of AuNCs and the schematic for bone targeting. (B–D) Compared with the clinically available ICG, the AuNCs showed obvious fluorescence in spinal, vertebral vertebrae, distal femur, and proximal tibia. Scale bar: 10 mm. Reproduced with permission from
Bone Cancer Diagnosis by NIR Probes
Bone-related cancers have been divided into primary bone tumor (osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, and chondrosarcoma) and bone metastases (lung tumor, breast cancer, prostatic cancer, etc.) (
The commonest bone cancer is osteosarcoma with rare histologic subtypes, and it is challenging to differentiate the clinicopathologic features with commoner subtypes (Whelan and Davis, 2018). Both non-targeted and targeted NIR bioimaging were applied to visualize the bone tumors. The non-targeted approach benefits bone tumors with abundant blood vessels, and typical examples are primary tumor of knee and partial metastatic tumor (Wuisman and Grunert, 1994). The targeted approach provides potential to distinguish cancer cells from normal tissue on a cellular level (
FIGURE 5

Osteosarcoma metastasis is clearly visualized by NIR intraoperative imaging (ICG) during video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) metastasectomy. Left column, preoperative high-resolution computed tomography (CT). Middle column, bright field (traditional views). Right column, NIR merged view. Reproduced with permission from
Bone metastasis of malignant tumors is the one of most crucial points that cause difficult treatment. A series of pathological processes occur during malignant tumor cells migrate to bone sites. These processes include tumor cells invasion and angiogenesis, tumor cells release into the vessels and/or lymphatics, implantation of tumor cells in the bone followed by their proliferation, and induction of osteolytic fracture (
Although clinical trials of NIR fluorescence imaging have produced impressive results, the penetration depth is still limited. Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is also a promising noninvasive imaging modality with maximum penetration depth over several centimeters. Spirou et al. have demonstrated that PAI is capable of sensitive detection of thermally induced changes at depths of up to 30–50 mm using ex vivo liver tissue (
PhotoX Therapy of Bone Cancer by NIR Probes
The clinical symptoms of primary bone tumors and bone metastases include pathological fracture, neurological compression, and skeletal-related events, bringing severe physical suffering to the patient. Besides surgical resection, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are widely applied in clinic, but drug resistance and considerable systemic side effects may result in tumor recurrence and endless suffering to patients (
Photothermal therapy is on account of the photothermal effect of photothermal transduction agents (PTAs) that can transform light energy into heat so that locally damage the plasmalemma of tumor (
NIR photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a high-efficiency clinical treatment strategy for bone-related tumors with minimal side effects, high biosafety, and high controllability (
FIGURE 6

Schematic illustration showing TPP-PPG@ICG nanocomposite targeting mitochondrion for synergistic phototherapy. The PS agent (ICG) was grafted onto the PEG- and BPEI-functionalized photothermal agent (NGO) to obtain TPP-PPG@ICG. After cellular internalization, TPP-PPG@ICG accumulated in mitochondria, induced mitochondria-related intrinsic apoptosis, surmounted drug resistance, and enhanced the antitumor efficacy after 808-nm laser irradiation. Reproduced with permission from Zeng et al. (2021).
Combining PDT with PTT is a synergistic strategy for improving the treatment efficacy of cancers (
Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is an emerging therapy strategy which uses a targeting antibody chemically conjugated with a photoabsorber/photosensitizer. The laser excitation could cause the locally targeted cancer cells to swell and burst, inducing necrotic cell death. The released contents from tumor cells could promote the activation of immune response and establish the long-term immunity for destroying tumor cells (
Perspective and Challenges
Numerous novel NIR fluorophores have been developed and evaluated in bone cancer because fluorescence imaging in the near-infrared window is a highly promising technique for biomedical applications with deeper tissue penetration capability and higher SBR (Zhu S. et al., 2019). However, there are still some issues that remain to be resolved before the probes can be used in clinical diagnosis. First, current bone tumor diagnostic probes mainly target minerals (e.g., hydroxyapatite), while the tumor cell–targeting probes are still lacking (
Statements
Author contributions
QC and ZL summarized and wrote the article. BL, JJ, XL, WM, and SZ commented and revised the submitted version.
Funding
This work was supported by the Department of Finance of Jilin Province, China (Grant numbers JCSZ2019378-3 and JCSZ2020304-15) and Department of Science and Technology of Jilin Province (20200404108YY).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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Summary
Keywords
bone tumor, osteopathia, near-infrared probe, diagnosis, photoX therapy
Citation
Cai Q, Li Z, Li B, Jiang J, Li X, Meng W and Zhu S (2021) Precise Diagnosis and Therapy of Bone Cancer Using Near-Infrared Lights. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 9:771153. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.771153
Received
06 September 2021
Accepted
29 September 2021
Published
18 November 2021
Volume
9 - 2021
Edited by
Yao Sun, Central China Normal University, China
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© 2021 Cai, Li, Li, Jiang, Li, Meng and Zhu.
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*Correspondence: Weiyan Meng, mengwy@jlu.edu.cn; Shoujun Zhu, sjzhu@jlu.edu.cn
† These authors have contributed equally to this work
This article was submitted to Nanobiotechnology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
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